NYT Editorial Says Prosecuting Trump 'First Step' to End Democracy 'Crisis'

[onetexan]

The New York Times said Donald Trump must face prosecution over his "unprecedented assault" on American democracy to show that no one is "above the law."

In an editorial published on Friday, the Times suggested that it is vital that the former president be criminally investigated over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, including a plot to install fake electoral officials in a number of key states, before he "roused an armed mob" to storm the Capitol on January 6.

The paper's editorial board said that while "no one should revel" in the prospect of a former president facing criminal prosecution, Trump's actions have "brought shame on one of the world's oldest democracies and destabilized its future."
________________________

The rest of the MSM needs to follow suit!! Way past time!!

[PortTack]

1. Yes...way past time!

[malaise]

2. DU is way ahead of all of them

That is all.

[Irish_Dem]

3. The US standing in the world is damaged and diminished.

Democracy looks like a disaster, US checks and balances are an abject failure, Americans look ignorant and foolish.
Our allies don't trust us, rightly so.

We have lost the moral high ground when many of our leaders are corrupt, and in fact ruthless sociopaths.

With an ex president who should be serving a life term in SuperMax Prison, and instead we hem and haw and basically are afraid of him.

[Jade Fox]

10. +1

[Dave says]

13. Terrific post!

[BigmanPigman]

14. Well said!

[wnylib]

16. I suspect that DOJ is not afraid of him, and that

Garland is - and has been all along - monitoring and investigating not only Trump's crimes, but the larger group of operators in his circle. Sometimes, when investigators discover that there is a large group of operators, they monitor them before moving in on them in order to catch as many of them in a net as they can.

Sure, there will be violence when DOJ moves in on Trump and his circle, but I do not believe that risk or threat will stop Garland.

[Irish_Dem]

18. The DOJ's extreme and extraordinary caution is telling us something is at work behind the scenes.

They are obviously afraid of something. Afraid of Trump and what he will do if indicted.
Yes afraid of the violence.

Or the fix is in.

There are only so many explanations that can explain their behavior.

No one one reading this forum would be allowed to have so many boxes of top secret documents for such a long period of time.

Few could get away with all of Trump's crimes.

Yes I agree what you describe is standard FBI protocol, but they are obviously going to an extreme here.

[wnylib]

19. This DU thread sheds a little light on

possible reasons for delay in pursuing the documents theft. The steps that Garland has taken in the FBI search, and the reasons given in court for not wanting to release the affidavit on the FBI search of MAL sound like there is serious intent to follow this through to arrest and prosecution.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217090206

[Irish_Dem]

21. Yes, but there has been extraordinary caution and concern on the part of the FIB and DOJ.

I do now think it is possible for an indictment, a chance from last month.

Which means the DOJ is less fearful of Trump.

[Boomerproud]

4. Why shouldn't we "revel" if justice is finally meted out?

He glories in causing pain. He has torn down what little faith we have in institutions. I hope to see the day courageous people win the fight.

[Ocelot II]

5. Link here:

Mr. Trump’s unprecedented assault on the integrity of American democracy requires a criminal investigation. The disturbing details of his postelection misfeasance, meticulously assembled by the Jan. 6 committee, leave little doubt that Mr. Trump sought to subvert the Constitution and overturn the will of the American people. The president, defeated at the polls in 2020, tried to enlist federal law enforcement authorities, state officials and administrators of the nation’s electoral system in a furious effort to remain in power. When all else failed, he roused an armed mob that stormed the Capitol and threatened lawmakers.

The Justice Department is reportedly examining Mr. Trump’s conduct, including his role in trying to overturn the election and in taking home classified documents. If Attorney General Merrick Garland and his staff conclude that there is sufficient evidence to establish Mr. Trump’s guilt on a serious charge in a court of law, then they must seek an indictment too.

This board is aware that in deciding how Mr. Trump should be held accountable under the law it is necessary to consider not just whether criminal prosecution would be warranted but whether it would be wise. No American president has ever been criminally prosecuted after leaving office. When President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, he ensured that Nixon would not be prosecuted for crimes committed during the Watergate scandal; Ford explained this decision with the warning that such a prosecution posed grave risks of rousing “ugly passions” and worsening political polarization....

Mr. Trump’s actions as a public official, like no others since the Civil War, attacked the heart of our system of government. He used the power of his office to subvert the rule of law. If we hesitate to call those actions and their perpetrator criminal, then we are saying he is above the law and giving license to future presidents to do whatever they want...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/opinion/trump-documents-jan-6-prosecute.html

[onetexan]

7. thank you. I hit paywall so didn't post it :)

[Celerity]

11. here

no paywall

https://archive.ph/nk26u

[kentuck]

6. I agree.

It must be done to save our democracy.

It is a direct challenge.

[gratuitous]

8. The Times actually acknowledging there's a crisis

And that the "unprecedented" thing about all this isn't that that the FBI executed a search warrant on a former president's residence, but that it needed to happen at all. Because heretofore the major media's response to all of these alarming developments has been:



Crisis? What crisis?

[Jade Fox]

9. We also need to set an example for the rest of the world....

Namely, if you are dumb enough to allow a would be dictator access to great power as we in the US were, this is what you do: Get them out of that position of power, methodically and legally investigate their crimes, and then make the pay for those crimes.

Right now the whole world is watching us.

[Hekate]

12. It's a BFD when "the paper of record" does this

Thanks

[Pepsidog]

15. Imagine they don't prosecute something and DeSantis wins presidential election. He has a free hand

to do, well, whatever the f*ck he wants to do.

[kentuck]

17. It's going to take some huge cajones to prosecute him.

If not for espionage, how about for election fraud and obstruction of the Electoral Count process in the Congress?

They need to get him off the streets.

[Mr.Bill]

20. I would add

we are one more republican president away from the end of our country.

[onetexan]

22. Spot on!! Biggest reason to prosecute now.

The Con is a, clear & present danger every minute he's free.